Seat device for lifting,moving and lowering an invalid

ABSTRACT

A DEVICE HAVING A SEAT FOR SUPPORTING AN INVALID, WHICH SEAT IS SUPPORTED ON A MOVABLE FRAME AND WHICH FRAME RAISES AND LOWERS THE SEAT, WHEREBY AN INVALID CAN POSITION HIMSELF ON THE SEAT AND THEN BE MOVED OVER A BATHTUB AND BE LOWERED INTO THE BATHTUB, AND THEN BE RAISED AGAIN AND BE MOVED BACK TO HIS ORIGINAL POSITION.     D R A W I N G D R A W I N G

Feb. 6, 1973 G. CONDON 3,714,672

SEAT DEVICE FOR LIFTING, MOVING AND LOWERING AN I'NVALI'D Filed Oct. 12, 1970 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 /34 3| 3e 36 1 l lllllll I8 4 as 32 g 5s IO'Z-v 5 E e4 5 so 2 E 52 a 70 72 i 82 II III a L mmh. -c::: nm h Fig. 2 m

INVENTOR. GOR DON L. CON DON ATTORNEY Feb. 6, 1973 s. L. CQNDON 1 7 SEAT DEVICE FOR LIFTING, MOVING AND LOWERING AN INVALID Filed Oct. 12, 1970 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 all] llllllllll Fig. 4

INVENTOR. GORDON L. CONDON ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,714,672 SEAT DEVICE FOR LIFTING, MOVING AND LOWERING AN INVALID Gordon L. Condon, 7676 Torrem St, San Diego, Calif. 92041 Filed Oct. 12, 1970, Ser. No. 79,998 Int. Cl. A47k 3/12 U.S. Cl. 4-185 L 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device having a seat for supporting an invalid, which seat is supported on a movable frame and which frame raises and lowers the seat, whereby an invalid can position himself on the seat and then be moved over a bathtub and be lowered into the bathtub, and then be raised again and be moved back to his original position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There are many persons who have physical disabilities of various types that cause them to lose strength in their arm and leg muscles. This makes it difiicult for them to raise or lower themselves to and from a sitting position in a chair, bathtub or the like. Thus they are dependent upon others to aid them in such movements. While it is usually diflicult to aid an invalid person in moving into or out of a seat, it is much more difficult to help an invalid person in and out of a bathtub. In getting in and out of a bathtub, the invalid must be lowered to substantially ground level and then later lifted up the same distance and out of a bathtub. This requires the aiding person to hold the invalid over the edge of a bathtub and then raise and lower him. This can injure the back of the aiding person and as a result limits such aiding persons to extremely strong persons, thus usually requiring special nursing care for invalid persons.

It is therefore advantageous to have a device that may be easily positioned adjacent a bathtub and that moves an invalid person from a substantially standing position or from a sitting position on a seat into a bathtub, and that lowers the person into the bathtub under the control of the invalid if desired, and that then raises the invalid from the bathtub and moves the invalid to his original location, all of which is accomplished by a simplified mechanism, that is operated by power available in the bathroom and by a mechanism that is portable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An embodiment of my invention includes a seat that may take the form of a chair or the like that is supported upon a first frame. The first frame has a mechanism, such as a hydraulic mechanism, that supports the seat in a given vertical position at which an invalid may maneuver himself to sit on the seat in the normal manner. The hydraulic mechanism then is capable of lowering the seat and the invalid to the ground level if desired, and can then raise the seat vertically to a given height. The hydraulic mechanism may be operated by any suitable power means, or may be replaced by other known power means. In the preferred embodiment of this invention, the hydraulic mechanism is operated by normal water power available from the faucets in the bathroom.

The first frame is pivotally supported on a second frame that is mounted in a rigid and supported position in the bathroom adjacent to, for example, the bathtub. The first frame pivots in the manner to move the seat from a position adjacent the bathtub to a position over the bathtub.

3,714,672 Patented Feb. 6, 1973 The seat is then lowered by the hydraulic mechanism or power means, lowering the invalid into the bathtub where the invalid may wash himself. The seat is then raised by the hydraulic power means and the first frame pivoted to move the invalid from over the bathtub to a displaced position in the bathroom. The invalid may then move from a normal sitting to standing position from the support seat.

The seat is supported on suspension arms from the first frame so that the seat may be pivoted with the first frame and the second or base frame can be positioned at the side of the end of the bathtub, and thus out of the way. Further the first frame is supported pivotally at one side, which allows the second base frame to be supported ad jacent the bathtub but away from the bathtub structure. Thus the entire unit may be pivotally moved to a position where others may use the bathtub without interference from the invalid lifting and lowering device. Also the first frame may be easily lifted and removed from the second frame and placed at some other location when not in use, so that only the base frame structure is then positioned in the bathroom adjacent the tub. Also the second base frame, when not supporting the first frame, can be easily telescopically collapsed and moved from adjacent the bathtub, thus making the entire invalid lifting and lowering device easily movable into and out of the bathroom. It should however be recognized that the second frame or base frame can be permanently secured to the wall of the bathroom if desired.

The arms supporting the seat have different lengths so that the seat in the up or raised position, has its forward edge inclined slightly downward which makes it easier for an invalid person to position himself onto the seat. When the seat is lowered in a bathtub, its front edge is tilted upwardly slightly giving the invalid on the seat a feeling as well as an inclination that he is being held on or in the seat. This gives the invalid person a greater feeling of security in the vertical movement.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a new and improved invalid lifting and lowering device.

It is another object of this invention to provide a new and improved invalid lifting and lowering device that is capable through use of a simplified frame and seat structure of moving an invalid from a substantially standing position at a location away from a bathtub, to a position over the bathtub, and lowering the invalid into the bathtub, raising the invalid from the bathtub and moving the invalid back to the original location, all under the control of the invalid person.

It is another object of this invention to provide a new and improved invalid lifting and lowering device that is capable of moving an invalid into and out of a bathtub and uses the power of the water system already in the bathroom.

It is another object of this invention to provide a new and improved invalid lifting and lowering device for use in lifting and lowering invalids into a bathtub, which may be easily assembled in the bathroom and disassembled, leaving the bathtub available for use by others without interference from the device.

It is another object of this invention to provide a new and improved invalid lifting and lowering device having a frame for supporting a seat for lifting and lowering an invalid into a bathtub, which frame is positionable adjacent the bathroom wall and thus does not interfere with other persons using the bathtub when the device is not being operated.

Other objects and many advantages of this invention will become more apparent upon a reading of the following detailed description and an examination of the drawings in which like reference numerals designate like parts throughout and in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of the invalid lifting and lowering device including the frame structure, with portions of a bathtub and bathroom indicated in broken line.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view taken from the right side of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view, with part of the top brace structure cut away.

FIG. 4- is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to a portion of FIG. 1, showing an alternative seat lifting mechanism.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4, the embodiment of the invalid lifting and lowering device illustrated includes a seat structure 44 supported on a first frame structure 40 that is in turn pivotally supported on a second or base frame structure 10. The base frame comprises a vertical member 24 that is supported at the intersection of horizontally positioned longitudinal members 25 and 26. The vertical member 24 has a telescoping end 32 that supports a horizontally oriented arm 34. Arm 34 has a telescoping end 36 for moving into contact with the side wall of the bathroom. Arm 34 is moved by telescoping end 32 to contact or abut against the ceiling 18 of the bathroom. Longitudinal members and 26 rest on floor contacts on the fioor 22 at a location adjacent the tub 16. Both of the longitudinal horizontal members 25 and 26 can be telescopically extended and retracted to increase their base area coverage and thus provide more stability. It may be understood, that all of the telescoping members 32, 36, 25 and 26 are held in position by lock screws 31. All of these telescoping members are normally retracted when moving the base frame 10 into position in the bathroom. Once extended, they provide a solid base support for supporting the frame on hinge pins 38 that are secured by welding or the like to the vertical member 24.

The first frame 40 has bearing members 42 that hook over and are secured to and supported by hinge pins 38 for pivotal rotational movement thereon as indicated by the dotted lines and the direction of movement indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3. A pair of upper parallel arms 46 and 47 and lower parallel arms 48 are secured at one end through bearing connections to the vertical side members of the first frame 40. The other ends of the parallel arms are secured through pivotal connections to the sides of the seat 44. The lower parallel arms 48 are slightly longer than the upper arms 46 and 47 and thus cause the U- shaped seat structure 44 to be pitched upwardly at its forward end when lowered into the bathtub, as illustrated in dotted lines in FIG. 2, and to be pitched with the front forward edge downwardly inclined when moved to a position above the horizontal position of the arms 46 and 48 as illustrated in FIG. 2. The upwardly forward end pitching of the seat when in the bathtub tends to hold the invalid person in the seat 44 so that he does not have a tendency to slide off the seat and become submerged in the water. When in the upper position, the forward end of the seat tends to rotate downwardly making it easier for the invalid person to slide 01f the seat 44 or to slide onto the seat 44.

The back of the seat 44 comprises a strap member 50 that is pivotally secured at 76 to the lower surface of the rear of seat 44. The upper end of the strap 50 has a rearwardly projecting eyelet 80 to which is attached by snap connector "82, the end of the connecting rod 64 of a hydraulic motor 56. The other end of the hydraulic motor 56 is secured by yoke 54, pin 60, and tabs 62 to the upper member of frame 40. Thus upward movement of the connecting rod 64, raises seat strap 50 that in turn pulls seat 44 upwardly on the set of parallel arms 46, 47 and 48. This also causes the seat strap 50 to move forwardly when seat 44 is lowered into the tub, tending to hold the invalid person forwardly into the seat maintaining better forward support to the invalid for washing in the bathtub while the front of the seat is tilted upwardly to hold the invalid in the seat. Pad 52 functions as a rear pad for the seat 44. The seat 44 may be made of any suitable water impervious material such as plastic or wood coated with plastic or other like materials.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the hydraulic motor 56 com prises a normal hydraulic cylinder power unit, having a piston 57, connecting rod 64 and liquid input line 70. The fluid passes through line 70 into the volume of cylinder 56, which fluid forces the piston 57 upwardly pulling connecting rod 64 upwardly and through connector 82. This lifts seat 44 vertically on pivoting arms 46 and 48. The =fluid may move the piston '57 upwardly until it contacts the upper end of the cylinder 56, or the upward movement of piston 57 may be limited by a stop relief tube connection, such as discharge tube '55.

Two way valve 66 switches the fluid from, for example, input line 72 to line 70, from discharge line 70 to discharge line 74, or to a neutral position in which the lines are not connected. Lever 68 operates the valve 66. The end of the line 72 may be connected to the water faucet of the lavatory in the bathroom or to any other suitable water connection in the bathroom. The water passes under normal water pressure through valve 66 and line 70 to the cylinder 56 causing it to move upwardly and lift the seat 44. By pulling downwardly on control 68, mechanism 66 then switches the valve to discharge the water from the cylinder 56 through line 70 and line 74. This allows the piston 57 to move downwardly at a gradual rate as determined by the discharge rate of the water through line 70, valves 66 and lines 74. The discharge end of line 74, for instance, may be placed in the bathtub for normal discharge through the bathtub drain. The discharge end of by-pass line 55 may be similarly directed into the bathtub 16.

In operation, the valve 68 is placed in the neutral position and line 70 is not connected to either line 72 or line 74. In this position, the incompressible water in the hydraulic cylinder 56 prevents the piston 57 from moving downwardly in the cylinder volume. This holds the seat 44 in its given horizontal position and supports the invalid in the seat in this position. The seat may then be pivoted from the entry position illustrated in dotted lines in FIG. 3 to the position over the bathtub as illustrated in the bold line in FIG. 3. The valve 66 may then be operated to connect line 70 to discharge line 74 at which time the seat 44 is gradually lowered to the lowered position in the bathtub as illustrated in FIG. 2. In this position, the invalid then washes himself. Valve 68 is then operated directing input water through line 72 and line 70 to the hydraulic motor 56. This raises the invalid to a given height at which point the invalid is then pivotally supported and moved out of the bathtub. The invalid then places his feet on the floor of the bathroom and the seat may be moved even higher allowing the front of the seat to pivot downwardly aiding the invalid in moving from the seat to the standing position. The height of the seat to best accomplish this is determined by the height of the particular invalid. It is to be understood that valve 68 can be placed in neutral position at any time thus holding the seat 44 in that particular position until the valve 68 is again operated. The water being incompressible, does not allow movement of the seat 44 without operation of the valve 68. While the valve 68 is placed on the side of the vertical frame member of the first frame 40, it is to be understood that this valve mechanism may be placed on the seat where it can be easily operated by the invalid.

By disconnecting water line 72 and lifting the frame structure 40 off of hinge pins 38, the entire base frame structure 40 and seat 44 may be removed from the frame 10. This structure can then be placed in the corner of the bathroom or in some other position removing it from the bathtub area. Since the frame 10 essentially fits against the wall of the bathroom, the frame may be left in position and the bathtub used in the normal manner by others. If

it is not desirable to remove the first frame 40, then it may be merely pivoted on pivots 42 to the position illustrated in FIG. 3 in dotted lines, where normal access to the bathtub is possible without interference from the frame structure. If it is desirable to remove the entire frame structure from the bathroom, it is merely necessary to telescope or retract the various telescoping members of the frame structure and then remove it from the bathroom. It should be understood that the frame structure 10 may also, if desired, be secured to the wall of the bathroom and thus not be removable.

A modified embodiment of the frame structure 10 is illustrated in FIG. 5, as frame structure 100. In this embodiment, the seat 102 has sides 103 and a back 105. Supporting parallel arms 114 and 116 support the seat member 102 on frame 100 in the same manner as arms 46 and 48 of FIG. 2.

The hydraulic piston motor 111 is secured at its lower end to the lower frame member 112 of frame structure 100 with the piston 111 being held in vertical position by a suitable connection to the cross beam 110. The connecting rod 113 is connected to cables 117 and 119 that pass through pulleys 104, 106 and 108 and are connected at their ends to the upper sides of seat 103. By operation of hydraulic motor 111, cables 117 and 119 function to raise and lower seat 102 in the manner previously described relative to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4. It being understood that frame 100 may be pivotally supported on a frame 10, by arms 38 and bearing members 42 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3. In other respects, the embodiment of FIG. 5 operates in the same manner as previously described relative to the other figures.

Having described my invention, I now claim.

1. An invalid lifting and lowering device for moving invalids in and out of a bathtub or the like,

seat means for supporting an invalid,

frame means for supporting said seat means,

said frame means has power means for raising and lowering said seat means,

second frame means for supporting said frame means adjacent a bathtub or the like and said second frame means having means for moving said seat means on said frame means from a location adjacent to the bathtub to a location over the bathtub while said second means is immobile,

said second frame means has first extendable means for wedging said second means between the floor and ceiling adjacent to a bathtub,

and second extendable means for contacting the side wall adjacent the wall of a bathtub.

2. In an invalid lifting and lowering device for moving invalids in and out of a bathtub or the like,

seat means for supporting an invalid,

frame means for supporting said seat means,

said frame means having a vertical member with extending arms, which arms are pivotally secured at one end to said vertical member for movement of said arms from a substantially horizontal position to a downward projecting position,

said seat means being connected to the other ends of said arms,

power means connected at one end of said vertical member at a location above said seat means when said arms are in the horizontal position and connected at the other end to said seat means for moving said seat means and said arms between said substantially horizontal position and said downwardly projecting position,

said seat means comprises a seat with a pivotal back,

said power means comprises a longitudinally extending and contracting power unit that is connected between the upper portion of the pivotal back and said frame at a location on said frame above the maximum upward movement of said seat,

and said seat back being pivoted in a forward and backward direction relative to said seat by said power unit.

3. In an invalid lifting and lowering device for moving invalids in and out of a bathtub or the like,

seat means for supporting an invalid,

frame means for supporting said seat means,

said frame means having a vertical member with extending arms, which arms are pivotally secured at one end to said vertical member for movement of said arms from a substantially horizontal position to a downward projecting position,

said seat means being connected to the other ends of said arms,

power means connected at one end of said vertical member at a location above said seat means when said arms are in the horizontal position and connected at the other end to said seat means for moving said seat means and said arms between said sub stantially horizontal position and said downwardly projecting position,

said arms having sufficient length to move said seat means from a position above the upper edge of the bathtub when said arms are in a substantially horizontal position to a position adjacent the bottom of the bathtub when said arms are in said downwardly projecting position,

said arms comprise at least an upper arm connected between said vertical member and the upper part of said seat means and at least a lower arm connected between said vertical member and the lower part of said seat means, and said arms having lengths and positioned connections for pivoting the upper portion of said seat means backward upon lowering said seat means and pivoting the upper portion of said seat means forward upon raising said seat means. 4. In an invalid lifting and lowering device as claimed in claim 3 in which,

said upper arm comprising a pair of arms with each arm connected to opposite sides of said seat means, and said lower arm comprising a pair of arms with each arm connected to opposite sides of said seat means. 5. In an invalid lifting and lowering device as claimed in claim 3 in which,

said lower arm having a slightly greater length than said upper arm.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,280,409 10/1966 Cotner 4---185 L 2,604,636 7/1952 Nielsen 4-185 L 2,697,475 12/1954 Dueth 4-185 L X --36.5 2,562,598 7/1951 Brown 4--185 L 2,680,855 6/ 1954 Robinson 4-185 L 3,078,473 2/ 1963 Daniels 4185 L 3,188,657 6/1965 Cotner 4-185 L 3,381,317 5/1968 Daniels et al. 4185 L HOUSTON S. BELL, 1a., Primary Examiner D. MASSENBERG, Assistant Examiner 

